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Direct Link to 148-Page Full Report:
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_57728.html
STATE OF THE WORLD'S CHILDREN 2011 REPORT - ADOLESCENTS - UNICEF
NEW
YORK 25 February 2011 -
Investing in the world’s 1.2 billion adolescents aged 10-19 now can break
entrenched cycles of poverty and inequity, said UNICEF today in its 2011 State
of the World’s Children report entitled ‘Adolescence: An Age of Opportunity’.
See
report: 2011 State of the World’s Children report entitled ‘Adolescence:
An Age of Opportunity’ (PDF)
Strong
investments during the last two decades have resulted in enormous gains for
young children up to the age of 10. The 33 per cent drop in the global
under-five mortality rate shows that many more young lives have been saved, in
most of the world ‘s regions girls are almost as likely as boys to go to
primary school, and millions of children now benefit from improved access to
safe water and critical medicines such as routine vaccinations.
On
the other hand, there have been fewer gains in areas critically affecting
adolescents. More than seventy million adolescents of lower secondary age are
currently out of school, and on a global level girls still lag behind boys in
secondary school participation. Without education, adolescents cannot develop
the knowledge and skills they need to navigate the risks of exploitation, abuse
and violence that are at height during the second decade of life. In Brazil for
example, the lives of 26,000 children under one were saved between 1998 and
2008, leading to a sharp decrease in infant mortality. In the same decade
81,000 Brazilian adolescents aged 15-19 were murdered.
“Adolescence
is a pivot point – an opportunity to consolidate the gains we have made in
early childhood or risk seeing those gains wiped out,” said Anthony Lake,
UNICEF Executive Director. “We need to focus more attention now on
reaching adolescents -- especially adolescent girls -- investing in education,
health and other measures to engage them in the process of improving their own
lives.”
Adolescence
is a critically important age. It is during this second decade of life that
inequities and poverty manifest starkly. Young people who are poor or
marginalized are less likely to make the transition to secondary education
during adolescence, and they are more likely to experience exploitation, abuse
and violence such as domestic labour and child marriage – especially if they
are girls. In the developing world, (excluding China), the poorest adolescent
girls are roughly three times as likely to be married before the age of 18 than
their peers in the richest quintile of households. Girls who marry early are
most at risk in being caught up in a negative cycle of premature child-bearing,
high rates of maternal mortality and child undernutrition. Girls also
experience higher rates of domestic and/or sexual violence than boys, and are
more susceptible to the risk of HIV infections.
The
vast majority of today’s adolescents (88 per cent) live in developing
countries. Many face a unique set of challenges. Although adolescents around
the world are generally healthier today than in the past, many health
risks remain significant, including injuries, eating disorders, substance abuse
and mental health issues; it is estimated that around 1 in every 5 adolescents
suffers from a mental health or behavioural problem.
With
81 million young people out of work globally in 2009, youth unemployment
remains a concern in almost every country. An increasingly technological labour
market requires skills that many young people do not possess. This not only results
in a waste of young people’s talents, but also in a lost opportunity for the
communities in which they live. In many countries large teenage populations are
a unique demographic asset that is often overlooked. By investing in adolescent
education and training, countries can reap a large and productive workforce,
contributing significantly to the growth of national economies.
Adolescents
face numerous global challenges both today and in the future, among them the
current bout of economic turmoil, climate change and environmental degradation,
explosive urbanization and migration, aging societies, the rising costs of
healthcare, and escalating humanitarian crises.
To
enable adolescents to effectively deal with these challenges, targeted
investments in the following key areas are necessary:
- Improving
data collection to increase the understanding of adolescents’ situation
and meet their rights;
- Investing
in education and training so that adolescents have the means to lift
themselves out of poverty and contribute to their national economies;
- Expanding
opportunities for youth to participate and voice their opinion, for
example in national youth councils, youth forums, community service
initiatives, online activism and other avenues which enable adolescents to
make their voices heard.
- Promoting
laws, policies and programs that protect the rights of adolescents
and enable them to overcome barriers to essential services;
- Stepping
up the fight again poverty and inequity through child sensitive programs to
prevent adolescents from being prematurely catapulted into adulthood.
“Millions
of young people around the world are waiting for a greater action by all of us.
Giving all young people the tools they need to improve their own lives will
foster a generation of economically-independent citizens who are fully engaged
in civic life and able to actively contribute to their communities,” said Lake.